Divestment or engaged investment - the oil majors conundrum

'Record profits have been accompanied by some notable net zero backtracking'

clock • 5 min read

Nick Astley looks at the conundrum of investing and the oil majors. What works best - divestment or engaged investment?

Over recent years, we have heard how energy companies need to generate profits from fossil fuels to fund renewable energy investment. In 2022, the six largest western oil companies generated more profit than ever at more than $200bn, so in theory, this should be great news for a more sustainable future shouldn't it? However, record profits have in fact been accompanied by some notable net zero backtracking. BP announced plans in February to scale back its Scope 3 emission reduction targets from 35-40% by 2030 to just 20-30%, Exxon walked away from its most heavily publicised biofuel c...

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